The End of All Things
by Brightdreamer
Summary: At the end of their strength, will Kazuma and Ryuhou find new beginnings? Shonen ai, KazumaRyuhou
1. End

**Warning:** Shonen-ai, Kazuma/Ryuhou. This means boys kissing, y'all, so click back now if you don't want to read that.

**A/N:** This was written for the 30 Kisses challenge on LiveJournal, so you may recognize some of the themes in each chapter.

**Disclaimer:** No, I don't own s-CRY-ed. If I did, the yaoi would be more overt. I also have no money, so don't sue.

* * *

Chapter 1: Invincible

Kazuma and Ryuhou: the invincible defenders of the Lost Ground. Together, they had defeated numerous armies of the mainland, as well as revolts and disputes amongst the inhabitants of the island. Their unimaginable Alter power was stronger than any seen before or since, and together, no foe could stand against them.

_How ironic,_ Ryuhou thought as he lay on a pile of tattered blankets, fighting for every breath. _Our "invincible" power would be the one thing to destroy us._ Cougar had warned him, long ago, that continuing to harness the intense Alter power of the Other Side would result in certain death. But there was no choice. The Lost Ground had to be protected. Now that it was safe, Ryuhou and Kazuma could finally... rest.

Hearing a low groan, Ryuhou turned his head and looked across the one-room shack that he and Kazuma had called home for the past few months... or was it years, now? His companion lay on a low pallet of blankets similar to Ryuhou's, curled up in obvious pain. Even in the dim light struggling through the dirty windowpane, Ryuhou could see the deep scars crossing Kazuma's bare arm and torso. Ryuhou had similar scars of his own, carving trails over much of his body. Such was the high price paid for their awesome power. Their bodies wouldn't hold out much longer, Ryuhou was sure. Being broken apart and re-formed so many times was too much for any human body, even ones so strong as Ryuhou and Kazuma's.

Another muffled groan brought Ryuhou out of his thoughts. With great effort, he clenched his teeth and rolled off his "bed," then crawled across the floor to Kazuma's side. His head was swimming from the pain by the time he collapsed onto the blankets beside his former enemy. "How... bad?" he panted, trying to catch his breath as he stared up at the dark ceiling above him.

"Shut... up," Kazuma groaned. "Don't ask... me that."

Ryuhou grunted softly in response, his eyes slipping closed. He must have fallen unconscious again, because the next time he became aware, the sky through the window was a mottled orange and blue. He wasn't sure if it was sunrise or sunset–and it didn't matter. A soft weight rested across his chest; looking down, he saw a darkly-scarred arm lying over him. Kazuma must have curled closer to him in his sleep, seeking relief from the cold and pain. Oddly enough, Ryuhou found that he didn't mind. Kazuma was... warm. Shifting a bit, he wrapped his arm around the other man's shoulders and pulled him closer. _I wonder if this... is the end_, Ryuhou thought, closing his eyes and shivering as pain shot through his body again.

"Not... a bad way... to die," Kazuma said quietly, as though he could read Ryuhou's thoughts. They'd always been that way, connected by a near-psychic link into one another's mind. "Almost wish... we were fighting... though." Every word sounded like an effort for the redhead, and Ryuhou wondered why the other man was even bothering to talk.

"I can hit you... if you want," Ryuhou murmured, tightening his arm around his companion.

"Mm... no... s'okay," Kazuma sighed, turning his head to almost nuzzle against Ryuhou's neck. Some part of the former HOLY officer's mind protested this closeness, but the rest of him was already slipping into the enclosing blackness.

When Ryuhou awoke again, it was completely dark in the cabin. He could have lit a lamp, but getting up from this pallet would have been too difficult. Besides, Kazuma's arm was wrapped tightly around him, holding him close. Ignoring the pain lancing through every nerve in his body, Ryuhou rolled to the side, facing his companion and draping his arm lightly over the other man's waist.

"Huh... still alive?" Kazuma grumbled weakly. "Figured you'd... kicked over by now."

"Not yet," Ryuhou replied. "Think... soon, though." There was no fear... only a sense of relief that this pain would soon be over. Every breath felt like too much effort. Kazuma had to be in the same condition, or worse. Dying like this was better than dying alone. Tightening his arms around Kazuma, Ryuhou drew closer to the other Alter user.

"Yeah, prob'ly," Kazuma sighed, leaning into the touch. Ryuhou was mildly suprised–he'd never been this close to Kazuma before, when they weren't fighting. He supposed the fact that they were both lying on what would be their deathbed had something to do with it. He was even more surprised when, a moment later, Kazuma's lips pressed against his in a gentle kiss. Ryuhou's immediate reaction was to draw away, but... he was just too weak, and it didn't feel _bad_, after all. Instead, he simply closed his eyes and welcomed the sudden affection, returning the unexpected kiss as best he could. Kazuma's lips weren't soft and warm like he'd always heard about kisses. Instead, they were dry and cracked, hot with fever. With great effort, Ryuhou raised one shaking hand and rested it on Kazuma's face, stroking his fingertips lightly over the scars on his cheek. _Not the worst way to spend our last few minutes on this earth,_ Ryuhou mused. _Unexpected, but not horrible._

Kazuma's arms clutched at Ryuhou's waist, though Ryuhou could feel the man's grip weakening even as their desperate first-last kiss continued. Finally, Kazuma broke away with a soft gasp, then rested his forehead against Ryuhou's. "Tired..." he panted. "Gonna... sleep now."

Ryuhou nodded weakly, brushing back some of Kazuma's tousled red hair. "Me too..." he murmured, already feeling the inexorable, inviting pull of darkness tugging at his consciousness. Part of him wanted to fight, to stay alive... but why? It would just mean more pain. If only...

With his last ounce of strength, Ryuhou pulled closer to Kazuma and kissed him again. The other Alter user responded for a moment, then... fell still. After struggling briefly, Ryuhou succumbed to the soft dark closing over them both.

* * *

_Floating... drifting... no pain... soft warmth... is this death?_ Ryuhou slowly came back to awareness, blinking dazedly in the bright white light surrounding him. The afterlife didn't seem too bad... though a little warmer than Ryuhou would have liked. Shifting slightly, he realized that he was lying in a large, soft bed, with several warm blankets spread on top of him. Raising his head, he was startled when a wet cloth slipped off his forehead, falling to the overstuffed pillow behind him.

"Oh, you're awake!" a cheerful, male voice greeted him. Turning his head, Ryuhou saw a familiar purple-haired boy standing in the doorway.

"T-Tachibana?" he rasped, his throat dry. "Am I... dead?"

"No, but you were close when we found you," the other man replied, moving over by the bed and pouring a glass of water from a pitcher on the night-stand. "Kanami wasn't able to track you down until your defenses weakened enough for her to sense you." He handed Ryuhou the glass, sliding an arm behind his back to help him sit up. "I've used Eternity Eight to heal much of the damage to your body, but I can't believe you didn't come to me earlier."

Ryuhou swallowed the cool liquid gratefully, then looked back at Tachibana, concerned. "Kazuma... did you...?" he asked, almost afraid of the answer.

Tachibana's smile faded for a moment, and Ryuhou's heart nearly stopped. If he were alive, and Kazuma had died... he didn't know how he would be able to go on. "He'll be all right," the younger man replied, and Ryuhou sighed in relief, louder than he would have liked to admit.

"Where...?"

"He was worse off than you... I almost couldn't bring him back," Tachibana said, moving across the room to grasp the edge of a curtain that Ryuhou hadn't noticed before. Belatedly, he realized that they were in a hospital room of sorts. When Tachibana pulled back the curtain, he saw that Kazuma was lying in the other bed, looking very still and pale. "He'll recover," Tachibana said quickly, stepping back to place a reassuring hand on Ryuhou's shoulder. "You're just lucky we found you two in time." He squeezed Ryuhou's arm lightly, then stepped back. "Try to get some more rest. I'll go get Kanami-chan... I'm sure she'll want to see you." With that, he turned and left the room after one last smile at Ryuhou.

Lying back on the pillows, Ryuhou kept his eyes fixed on Kazuma as his mind churned over everything that had happened. That last kiss... he knew it had to mean something, but both of them had thought they were dying! How would Kazuma react? How was Ryuhou supposed to react, for that matter?

With a sigh, Ryuhou shook his head with a faint hint of a smile, still looking over at his companion. "Well, Kazuma... what do we do now?"


	2. Beginning

**Title: **_The End of All Things_

**Author:**Eloy Brightdreamer

**Rating: **PG-13/T

**Summary:**At the end of their strength, will Kazuma and Ryuhou find new beginnings?

**Warning:** Shonen-ai, Kazuma/Ryuhou. This means boys kissing, y'all, so click back now if you don't want to read that.

**A/N:** This was written for the 30 Kisses challenge on LiveJournal, so you may recognize some of the themes in each chapter.

**Disclaimer:** No, I don't own s-CRY-ed. If I did, the yaoi would be more overt. I also have no money, so don't sue.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Beginning**

When Kazuma finally opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Ryuhou's concerned face. He blinked several times, but the other man didn't fade away–apparently not a hallucination then. "Huh, I even gotta put up with you in the afterlife too?" he rasped, wincing at the dryness of his throat.

"We're not dead," Ryuhou replied simply, reaching over to grab a glass of water off the bedside table. "Though apparently we were close to death when Tachibana found us." He held out the glass, his ruby eyes not quite meeting Kazuma's stare.

Grunting in response, Kazuma pushed himself up on one elbow and grabbed the water from the other man. His one good eye watched Ryuhou sharply as he drank. The green-haired man seemed vaguely uncomfortable, and Kazuma had a pretty good idea why. He wasn't about to bring it up, though. It was far too much fun to watch Ryuhou squirm.

For a few moments, Ryuhou stayed silent, still not meeting Kazuma's intense gaze as he set the glass aside. Finally, he cleared his throat. "Ano sa..." he began. "About what happened..."

"What, you didn't like it?" Kazuma replied with a smirk, falling back to the pillows. He hadn't forgotten their desperate kisses, lying on what they thought would be their deathbed. In truth, he was surprised it had taken them so long to reach this point.

Ryuhou's eyes widened slightly, and a faint blush appeared between the scars on his cheeks. "N-no, I didn't… I mean… I did like it, I think, but we… I didn't know…"

Kazuma laughed suddenly, interrupting Ryuhou's stammering. The laughter soon turned to pained coughing, however, and Kazuma pressed his palm to his chest, grimacing.

"You all right?" Ryuhou asked, immediately reaching for the glass again.

Kazuma waved him off, getting himself back under control. "Fine," he gasped, then grinned up at the other man. "Y'know, you're pretty hot when you're flustered."

"Wh-what? You… I…" Ryuhou sputtered, his blush deepening. He took a deep breath and straightened his back, apparently calming. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Kazuma's eyebrows raised a fraction. "Realllly," he drawled, struggling to sit up again. Ryuhou reached out to help him, and Kazuma grabbed his shoulders as if for support, but then pulled him down into a firm, insistent kiss.

Ryuhou gasped, his startled breath rushing over Kazuma's lips, and it seemed as though he would pull away. But Kazuma slid his hand around and twined his fingers firmly in long green hair, holding him in place, and soon Ryuhou relaxed marginally against him. After a moment, his lips began to move in response to Kazuma's, and his hand came up to rest hesitantly on Kazuma's shoulder as the kiss deepened and continued. This meeting of lips and tongue lacked the urgency and desperation of their last, but it was no less intense for that. Kazuma felt a thrill shiver through his body, assuring him that although he was drained, he was still alive and this was true and real.

Finally, Kazuma broke away, falling back to the pillow with a self-satisfied smirk. "There, that's better," he said tiredly, his one good eye twinkling up at Ryuhou.

The green-haired man swallowed visibly, apparently struck speechless. Finally, he nodded, appearing a bit stunned.

Kazuma's expression turned serious for a moment, and he reached out to grasp Ryuhou's sleeve. "Ano sa…" he said, his eye slipping closed as he tried to fight the inexorable pull of healing sleep. "Can't go back now." Before he could hear Ryuhou's response, he gave in, slipping into pleasant, painless dreams.

To Be Continued... (perhaps!)


End file.
